


Sometimes Family Is What You Make of It

by katharasecunda



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Cameos, College AU, Found Family, M/M, Multi, Slow Burn, baseball!Johnny, partial chat fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:14:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25228915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katharasecunda/pseuds/katharasecunda
Summary: Johnny Suh thought that his junior year of college was going to be just like the last two, but little did he know that everything was going to get turned on its head when he meets a cute Thai transfer student. Between baseball, classes and the ups and downs of life, he meets new people and creates a family for himself in Korea, as well as friendships that will last a lifetime.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung, Lee Taeyong/Moon Taeil, Mark Lee & Suh Youngho | Johnny, minor relationships - Relationship
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	Sometimes Family Is What You Make of It

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for clicking on this story. I haven't written a fanfic since high school, and never a K-pop one. This story was inspired partly by art, in all forms, is a thing of beauty by moon__goddess and partly by the NCT H&Y episode where they go to the game center and Johnny freaking kills it at the baseball game.
> 
> Please feel free to offer an critiques! I would like to improve this story in any way that I can.

Johnny was sure that his junior year of college was going to be like the last two. He would be spending his time either dying from the class load of work that he needed to get done or dying on the baseball field during practice. But that all changed about a week before classes were scheduled to start. He woke up that fateful morning pretty tired after staying up late playing games with his friend Sehun to hear his phone ringing. He lunged forward to see who was calling but he just missed the call. 

Upon looking at his phone he discovered the call was from the graduate student, Henry, who ran the Foreign Students Club on campus. This was a little weird, because Henry didn’t usually call him, but he shrugged and picked up the phone to call Henry back. 

The phone rang twice and then Johnny heard Henry’s familiar flirty voice, “Johnny! Thanks for calling me back so quickly! I have a bit of a situation here, and I am going to need your help.”

Johnny opened his mouth to ask what the hell was going on, but Henry pushed on and didn’t let him speak. 

“I got an email this morning from the International Students office that the person who was going to help out a new student is transferring schools and won’t be able to help this poor first year kid. I know you’re going to be busy with classes and baseball, but I think you and this kid will get along well. He’s from Canada, and boy do I wish I could help a kid from my home country, but I am not going to have time with TA-ing for both violin and music production. Would you be willing to help this kid out for the first few weeks of school? And could you maybe pick him up from the airport when he gets here?”

Johnny ran his hand through his hair, “I don’t know, hyung. I’ve never had a kid shadow me before. Could you ask someone else? It's not that I don’t want to help, but I am going to be really busy with baseball and classes.” 

Henry sighed and then responded, “Johnny you were the last person I could ask. Everyone else that I could ask already has other things going on or is already helping someone. Please, I will owe you one. He’s a sweet kid. I’ve been talking to him via email as he prepares to move here, and I really think that you two would be a good fit.”

Johnny sat back and sighed. Honestly, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal if he helped out this kid. He loved being a hyung and helping out those who were younger than him. And he could empathize with the kid. He too moved across the world for school, and knew how terrifying that was. “Okay, I’ll help out. But, you owe me coffee or something. When does the kid get here?”

Henry inhaled and let out his breath in a relieved kind of way, “Oh thank you Johnny! I will buy you coffee for like a month! He gets here in two days. I’ll text you all of the flight information. Oh! I never mentioned his name. His name is Mark Lee, and I’ll also send you his contact information.” Henry was silent for a minute and then continued, “Johnny, really, thank you. I’m sure this is going to go great. Hey! Maybe you’ll come to more club meetings now that you have a freshman to show around! We missed you last year!”

Johnny laughed and then said goodbye and hung up the phone. He threw the phone onto the bed next to him and then flopped back down and sighed. It seemed like junior year was going to be more interesting than he thought. 

As he laid there in thought his phone buzzed and it said

 **Henry Lau** : Thanks again dude! Mark’s flight gets here on Wednesday at 12 pm, the flight number and information is attached in the link! He’s staying in the dorms, specifically West Hall Room 1127. Here’s his number, make sure he gets a SIM card if he needs it! xxx-xxxx-2397

Johnny sighed and decided to get up and shower and get some breakfast, and then he was going to figure out what the hell he was going to do to help a kid get settled in a foreign country. The kid was going to need to get things for his dorm room, so maybe he could help the kid find all of that and help him make his dorm room more comfy. 

After towel drying his hair and putting on some clothes, Johnny stepped out of his room into the living area of his apartment. He was glad that he was living in campus apartments instead of the dorms. He liked having more space and roommates that he enjoyed living with. He lived with his two really good friends, Taeil and Doyoung. Taeil, was a year above him, and Doyoung, he had met on the first day of orientation. They had been best friends since.

He walked into the kitchen and saw Taeil sitting at the table and Doyoung making breakfast. This was how things usually went in the morning. Taeil could not be trusted to cook food in the morning until he was more awake and Johnny was a horrible cook, so they generally left breakfast up to Doyoung. At least for now, Doyoung would not be responsible for breakfast once classes really got underway and they didn’t have time in the morning to eat together. But, they had made a roommate pact that they were going to try and eat dinner together every night, and then of course the other two would help with the cooking. 

“Good morning Johnny,” Doyoung greeted, turning away from the stove, “Who were you talking to this early in the morning?” 

Johnny smiled and greeted his two roommates, “Good morning Doyoung, good morning Taeil-hyung. Henry-hyung called me and asked me to help out with one of the incoming International students.”

Taeil smiled, “I was wondering when he was going to finally get you to agree to do that. I don’t know why you haven’t done this sooner. You are really good with kids younger than you. Just look at how you interact with your dongsaengs on the baseball team.”

“He probably didn’t ask before because he’s on the baseball team hyung,” Doyoung interjected, “Johnny gets so busy with practices as well as on top of being a double major.” Doyoung looks over at Johnny, “But, I’m glad to hear it! I also think you are going to do a good job, so don’t stress out about it. At least you can be up front with this kid and tell them that you have a busy schedule, but you are willing to help out.” He turns back to the stove, “When does the kid get here? Maybe you can bring them by for dinner, and Taeil-hyung and I can meet the kid and we can help out too. The more people they meet before the first day, the less anxious they might be.” He paused and turned to his roommates, “Taeil-hyung, could you get the plates? The food is ready.”

Johnny smiled at his roommates while they got everything ready for breakfast. Johnny went and grabbed the utensils and snagged a cup of coffee while he was at it. He was glad to hear that they were willing to maybe help him out here. Doyoung wasn’t wrong that he was going to be busy. Sometimes Johnny regretted picking two majors, but he loved his photography classes and entertainment classes too much to just pick one major. 

He takes a sip of his coffee and responds to Doyoung’s question, “He gets here on Wednesday at noon. I was thinking of figuring out what he needs to get his dorm room when he gets here. I doubt he’s bringing sheets and stuff with him. I’m not sure what else to do though. Any ideas?”

The three roommates then spent the rest of breakfast hashing out a plan of attack for helping the new kid get situated. Doyoung had suggested that Johnny at least message the kid before he gets here, so he did just that. He had sent a photo of himself through to the phone number that Henry had given him, so hopefully the kid would sort of recognize him when Johnny went to go pick him up. 

This is how Johnny found himself at the airport two days later holding a sign that read “Welcome Mark Lee” right outside of Arrivals. He checked the flight information on his phone again and checked that the plane had unboarded, so all he had to do was wait for the kid to get through customs. They hadn’t really talked much before Mark would arrive, but Johnny figured that they would get to know each other better as time went on. 

Johnny was playing a game on his phone when he noticed someone walking towards him. He looked up and found a smaller boy in front of him. He had short brown hair, smiley eyes, and a grin. With him were two massive suitcases and he had a backpack slung across his back.

“Hey, you’re Johnny right?”

“Yep that’s me. You must be Mark. Are you ready to go? The flight must have been killer.”

Mark smiled even wider, “Yeah, but I managed to sleep some, so I feel pretty good. I’ve made the flight before so I knew somewhat what to expect.”

Johnny was a little surprised to hear that, but he grabbed one of the suitcases and they made their way to the train. “You’ve been to Korea before? Well, that's good! I was a little worried I’d have to show you everything. Did you come to visit family?”

“No, I actually did a year abroad at a local high school. That’s the reason why I decided to go to university here. I made some really good friends, and they also got into the university. So, I decided to wait a semester and join them at the same time, instead of starting in the fall. But, I really appreciate that the International students department decided to give me an older student that could help me out. It’s definitely nice knowing that there is also someone older that I can ask anything too.”

At this point they reached the train station, and Johnny had a few minutes to collect his thoughts. This was definitely not going to be a bad thing, helping out a first year. Mark seemed pretty confident about his major move, which Johnny certainly hadn’t been when he moved from Chicago to Korea. Together they boarded the train and spent the hour train ride from the airport into Seoul talking about things and getting to know each other. Johnny found that he really liked Mark, and that the kid was pretty funny. Mark told him that he was thinking about being a performance major, and that he really liked to rap and dance. Johnny told him about being on the baseball team and double majoring in Photography and Entertainment, and that he really liked the idea of doing a radio show. He also told Mark about his roommates, and that they had invited him to dinner tonight after Mark got everything settled in his dorm room. 

“Are you living with roommates in the dorm?” Johnny asked. 

“Yeah, I wanted to room with my friends, but the paperwork got all messed up, but they are living together in a quad in the same building. So we’ll all be close to each other. I’m rooming with two other guys. Hold on, let me check what their names are again.” Mark pulled out his phone and looked at it for a few minutes, “I’m rooming with guys named Yukhei and Yangyang.”

“Ah, two other International students. They probably put you all together because of that. I don’t recognize those names, so they are probably in your year or they are transfers. Speaking of dorms, do you need to get sheets and blankets?”

Mark shook his head, “No, my friends said that they would get those for me so I wouldn’t have to worry. But I am a little worried that they got me like bunnies on them or something else equally ridiculous. That is something they would totally do.” Mark leaned in closer to Johnny, “But, jokes on them, bunnies are adorable!”

Johnny laughed, “They sound like good friends. I bet you are excited to see them. Do you know when you are going to meet up?”

Mark full out smiled, his eyes closing with the force of his grin, “They are waiting at the dorm for me.” He then suddenly frowned, “Is that ok? I don’t know if you had anything planned or if you even want to meet four other first years.”

Johnny slung an arm around Mark, “Don’t worry about it, as long as you’re ok with having dinner with my roommates. They are excited to meet you, and Doyoung said he was going to buy meat for a barbecue.” The train slowed as it entered the station, and Johnny noticed it was their stop, “Now, let's get off the train here and head to your dorm to get your key and student ID.” 

The process to get all of the housekeeping work was done pretty quickly, and soon the two were in the elevator with Mark’s bags heading up to his room. The lady at the information desk told them that one of his roommates had already arrived and would be there when they got up to the room. Mark was a little nervous to hear that, but was mainly looking forward to seeing his friends. As they walked toward his room they noticed that the door was open and that there were people inside. They stopped in the doorway and looked in. The dorm room was set up with a small communal area in the middle with two bunk beds against each wall with a desk and a dresser for three people. The room was slightly bigger than most, due to the fact that it was made for four people to live in. Five boys were in the room, and two of them were talking in rapid Chinese. Sitting on one of the unclaimed beds were the three other boys. One of them had pink hair, one had curly brown hair, and the other was laughing so hard his eyes were little crescents. Mark grinned and said. “Hey guys! Did you miss me?”

This caused the two boys to stop speaking and they all looked toward the door. “Mark!” one of the boys shouted and four of them ran up and hugged him.

“You made it!” the shortest boy, who had been speaking in Chinese exclaimed, “We came up here to wait for you and ran into one of your roommates.” 

After a few more minutes of excited chatter they all moved back and saw Johnny standing behind him. Quickly they all bowed. “Hello sunbae, sorry for not greeting you,” the pink haired one said.

Johnny waved them off and told them it was fine. Mark turned to Johnny, “Johnny-hyung, these are the friends I was telling you about. Here we have Renjun, Jeno, Jaemin, and Donghyuck. Guys, this is Johnny, he’s going to be helping me out and stuff.”

After the introductions were all done, Mark’s friends handed him his blankets (which in fact did have bunnies on them, which caused Mark to jokingly complain about it) and things and left with promises to meet up later. Once they were gone, Johnny nudged Mark toward his roommate. 

They boy stood up and stretched out his hand, “You must be Mark Lee, it's nice to meet you. I’m Yangyang.”

Mark shook his hand and smiled“Nice to meet you too. Sorry that you got bombarded by my friends, they can be a little much.”

“Oh it was no problem, it was nice to meet some people before classes started, and it was definitely nice to talk to someone in Chinese. My Korean isn’t great so that was a nice surprise.”

The two idly chatted while Mark unpacked his things and made his bed. Yangyang had told them that he had been in contact with Yukhei, who liked to go by Lucas, and said that the other boy was arriving the next day. 

[2:30]

 **johnnyboy:** hey Doyoung how do you feel about another kid coming to dinner? One of Mark's roommates is here and his mentor hasn't arrived yet.

[2:35]

 **doyoungie:** I don't have a problem with that. I'll send taeil-hyung to the store to get some more meat. you know I like feeding people.

 **johnnyboy:** Cool! I'll stop by the store on the way back and get some ice cream.

"Hey Yangyang, My roommates have extended an invitation to you for dinner. Mark was going to come with me, so if you would like to join us you can." 

Yangyang looked a little startled by the sudden invitation, but smiled and agreed to come along. 

"Great! Lets head out then and pick up some stuff that you guys might need from the store on our way over."

With that the three of them headed out to go shopping and then to dinner.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> Please check out "art, in all forms, is a thing of beauty" https://archiveofourown.org/works/10282403/chapters/22760462 and give the author some love!


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